Photo of the Week: Meserole House

From the desk of Cassie Mey, Project CHART intern: While scanning the Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slides, ca. 1905, I have discovered particular slides that speak to me personally and enliven Brooklyn history in my imagination. For example, I used to live at 1010 Lorimer Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and this lantern slide shows a historic house at the address of 1000 Lorimer Street. Currently, 1000 Lorimer is the site of a brick manufacturing building, so at first I didn’t realize that I possibly lived next door to the original site of the house captured in this slide. Since making this connection and the more I look at this image, the more it looks to me as if this Meserole House could be the very same structure of the wood-sided, multi-family townhouse at 1010 Lorimer Street, where I previously lived. I’m also struck by how the surrounding apartment buildings in the image look so much like Greenpoint of today.

The creator of this slide collection, Dr. Ralph Irving Lloyd, amateur photographer and Park Slope ophthalmologist, captured Brooklyn around the time that the city was incorporated as a borough of Greater New York City. His lantern slides show exterior views of historic houses and the landscapes and early street scenes that tell the story of Brooklyn transitioning into today’s cityscape. Against this backdrop, adults, children, and even cats show up as observers in Lloyd’s slides.

Many other images in the Ralph Irving Lloyd collection could offer a historic view of your house, or even an early street scene from your block. View more of Lloyd’s images and others from the BHS collection on the Online Image Gallery. To search our entire collection of images visit BHS’s visit the Othmer Library Wed-Fri, 1:00-5:00 p.m.

Many other images in the Ralph Irving Lloyd collection could offer a historic view of your house, or even an early street scene from your block. View more of Lloyd’s images on the BHS Online Image Gallery.

About Cassie Mey

Cassie is a Brooklynite of 10 years, a Project CHART intern at BHS and a Pratt Institute Master of Library and Information Science student. Alongside her work in archives, Cassie is a modern dancer and choreographer, and she continues to perform with dance companies in the US and abroad.

One Response to Photo of the Week: Meserole House

I was amazed to see the 1905 Ralph Irving Lloyd lantern slide of the Meserole House at 1000 Lorimer Street in Greenpoint. I have an earlier photograph of the the same house. I am guessing the photo I have was taken in the 1870’s when the house was a single family home. The photo I have was given to me by my father’s cousin. My father’s great-grandfather, Adrian Meserole, owned the house back then.